Psychology Ch 5

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developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Examines how people are continually developing,

Three major issues associated with developmental psychology

Nature/Nurture

Continuity/stages

stability/change

*Think of climbing a tree. First big branches, to the left is a tree leaves (nature) to the right is a mother & baby (nurture); You climb up further and come to more big branches, to the left is a continuing long path (as far as the eye can see) and to the Right is a couple theatre stages; U climb to the top, to the Left you see the tree is stable n not going to fall, to the Right you are paid in change for climbing the tree.

Nature/nurture

Questions how genetic inheritance (our nature) and experience (the nurture we receive) influence our development

Continuity/stages

Questions whether development is a gradual, continuous process like riding an escalator, or does it proceed through a sequence of separate stages, like climbing rungs on a ladder?

Stability/change

Questions if our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age?

When a sperm reaches the egg

it releases digestive enzymes that eat away its protective coating. As soon as one sperm is welcomed, the egg's surface blocks out the others.

Before 1/2 a day elapses, the egg nucleus and the sperm nucleus fuse

Stages in prenatal development

zygote: conception to 2 weeks

embryo: 2 weeks to 8 weeks

fetus: 9 weeks to birth

zygote

the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

fewer than half survive beyond the first 2 weeks

10 days after conception, attaches to uterine wall

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

over next 6 weeks, organs begin to form and function, heart begins to beat

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

during 6th month, organs such as stomach have developed enough to allow a prematurely born fetus a chance of survival

teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development (can slip through placenta) and cause harm

fetal alcohol syndrome

FAS ~ physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions

By 8 months, infants begin exhibiting memory for things no longer seen

conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same, despite changes in the forms of objects

*think of example of milk poured into two separate glasses: one skinny n tall, one short and wide

egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states- about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

autism

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communications, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind

affects 4 boys for every girl

~ said to have an impaired theory of mind

autism spectrum disorder

Todays researchers use this term to encompass the variations in autism

Asperger syndrom

a "high-functioning" for of autism

marked by normal intelligence, often accompanied by exceptional skill or talent in specific area, but deficient in social and communication skills (and thus an inability for form normal peer relationships)